The continuation of the war was the main reason that the Tsarist government collapsed in February 1917

The continuation of the war was the main reason that the Tsarist government collapsed in February 1917. How far do you agree?

In February 1917, the Tsarist government collapsed. After 300 years of ruling the Romanov dynasty surrendered the reins of power to the hands of the provisional committee, thus ending Tsardom in Russia. What had, at first been a ‘simple’ crisis in a single city, had turned into a full-blown revolution which ended up overthrowing the Tsar and the autocracy which he had represented. There were many factors, both long and short term involved in the sequence of events which led to this momentous decision. These included the incompetence of the Tsar and the Great War. To this day historians debate whether World War I was the main reason for the Tsardom’s collapse or whether it was due to a host of other factors. This essay will explore top what extent the Great War was the main reason behind the collapse of Nicholas II’s government in February 1917.

The war played a major role in the 1917 revolution, and caused several events that led to the downfall of the Tsar. The first of these was the mutiny of the army regiments in Petrograd. Unlike their comrades on the front line, these troops were relatively “green” and were more inclined to take sides against the Tsar should it come to attacking the protestors. This meant that when the Tsar and his advisors ordered the protests to be violently repressed, many members of the army in Petrograd joined the protestors in opposing the Tsar, “this isn’t 1905. We won’t carry whips. We won’t move against our own kind, against the people.” this was also demonstrated by the fact that many of the ‘rank and file’ soldiers killed their own officers when they were ordered to attack the crowds. Thus the war played a key role in causing the crisis to become a revolution, thus causing the collapse of the Tsarist government.

This is a preview of the whole essay

The war also deprived Petrograd of seasoned soldiers, playing a major role in the revolution of February 1917. Due to the fact that all of the seasoned soldiers were all at the front in the trenches, the only troops left in Petrograd were raw unseasoned recruits. This meant that when the inevitable order to attack the crowds was given, they were not very successful at doing it, thus encouraging the revolutionaries and protestors. Many of their horses were unused to repressing crowds and the noise and bustle of the city streets, thus making them shy away from the noisy and abusive crowds. This combined with the recruits inability to deal out the ‘vigorous repressive measures’ seen in the 1905 revolution, further emboldened the crowd encouraging the change from a simple rationing protest to a revolution against the Tsarist regime, “their slogans were calling not so much for ‘Bread!’ as for the overthrow of the autocracy. ‘Down with the Tsar!’ and ‘Down with the War!’ were now their main demands.” thus the war greatly contributed to the demise of the Tsardom and the development of the revolution.

Another way in which the war contributed to the collapse of the Tsardom was the necessity for rationing and other such deprivations. After 3 years of war, the Russian people were beginning to feel the adverse effects of a long drawn-out conflict on such a large scale. There was a general shortage of food and this meant that people became more desperate and more susceptible to believing in rumours. Thus when a rumour of bread rationing circulated, there was a host of people ready to believe it. This single factor caused the protests in the first place even though there was enough bread in the city to last another three months. Therefore the war caused the protests which evolved into the 1917 revolution.

The war also contributed to the Tsar’s demise by highlighting the incompetency and inefficiency of the high command. The inability for the commanders to coordinate their attacks, for example the Brusilov offensive, meant that the Russian forces were suffering severe defeats and this increased the unrest at home as more and more of the common people realised that their loved ones would not return. Thus the war played a role in causing the collapse of the tsarist government, through causing unrest ‘at home’.

However the war was not the only reason for the 1917 revolution – the general structure of Russian society also played a role. Due to the fact that the society of Tsarist Russia was based on the oppression of the masses and the elevation of a small minority of the population, it was inevitable that a revolution would occur at some point. Indeed, Russian history had been filled with revolution after revolution. Thus it was extremely unlikely that the tsarist regime could withstand such an assault forever. This means that the collapse of the Tsardom was in fact inevitable and the Great War only acted as a catalyst.

The incompetence of Nicholas II and his ministers also played a key role in the 1917 revolution. The incompetence of the Tsar and his advisors meant that when confronted with such a grave situation as this, they were unable to take the actions required to save themselves. However unlike the revolution of 1905, the army was not there to save them and reforming ministers such as Witte had been removed from office – further reducing the chances of the Tsardom surviving this revolution. Furthermore, had the Tsar and his advisors not given the fatal order to violently repress the crowds, it is uncertain whether the “revolution” would have been a success. Also had the officials in Petrograd given out bread to the masses then the revolutionaries amongst the protestors would have been unable to harness the raw power of the crowds and turn it into a political revolt. Thus the incompetence of the Tsar and his ministers played a pivotal role in the collapse of the Tsarist regime.

To conclude the war did play a major role in the collapse of the Tsarist government and can be seen as a catalyst. However there were other factors which also played key roles in the February revolution of 1917, which must not be forgotten. Therefore although the war did play a major role in the demise of the tsarist government, it was not the main reason as other influential factors were also involved.

Alistair Hughes 28/01/2008

Remarks of a Cossack soldier involved in repressing the workers – taken from “Russia in Revolution”

“Russia in Revolution” – Glorious February